Summary The small fishing vessel, licence no.151816, with two persons on board and carrying a load of lobster traps, departed Brig Bay, Newfoundland, bound for the fishing grounds. On reaching open water, the vessel encountered swells of 2-3 metres and began to take on water forward. The shipped water could not drain quickly from the forward section of the boat and the vessel became swamped and capsized. The crew member was rescued unharmed but the owner/operator lost his life. The boat was later recovered without any apparent damage and no environmental pollution was reported. Ce rapport est galement disponible en franais. Other Factual Information The CFV 151816 is a small open fishing vessel of wooden construction and the owner had recently sheathed the vessel with glass-reinforced plastic (GRP). The vessel was built by the owner for use in the lobster and herring fisheries and is divided by four athwartship bulkheads which were positioned to restrict the movement of the catch when fishing for herring. The bulkheads were not constructed to be watertight and they permit water to slowly drain aft to the bilge pump. Being less than 15 gross tons, the vessel had not been inspected by Transport Canada, nor was she required to be. Neither had she been voluntarily inspected although such a service is available to vessels such as the CFV 151816 for a fee. At approximately 0620[1] on 15 May, 1997, the CFV 151816 left the dock in Brig Bay for fishing grounds about two miles off the coast. On board were the owner/operator and a crew member. The vessel was carrying 72 lobster traps which were stacked four and five high and overhung the port and starboard gunwales of the vessel. May 15 was the first day of the 1997 lobster fishing season for the area of Brig Bay and the lobster licence held by the owner permitted him to set a total of 420 +traps. A good catch was expected and it was planned to make every effort to place all of the traps in the water on the first day of the season; the first load of traps had been loaded on the CFV 151816 early that morning. The reported weather at the time of the vessel's departure was patchy fog with wind from the northwest at between 20 and 25 knots. The vessel was heavily laden with little freeboard on leaving the dock and as the CFV 151816 left the relatively sheltered waters of Brig Bay and moved into the open sea she encountered a 2-3m swell. The crew member soon noticed that the bow was apparently becoming deeper in the water and told the operator. The operator immediately throttled back the vessel's outboard engine to the idle position but, at about 0636, the bow became submerged and the vessel swamped. The position of the vessel at this time was about 2 cables west of Entrance Island, off the entrance to Brig Bay. The owner/operator held on to one of the portable five gallon (22.7 L) fuel tanks and drifted away from the vessel. The crew member floated clear as the vessel slowly capsized. The crew member was able to get on top of the overturned hull by using the keel as a hand-grip. He was rescued by a passing fisherman who had initially mistaken him for a seal on a pan of ice. There was no sign of the operator at this time and the crew member was taken back to the dock at 0645. An extensive air and sea search for the owner/operator was conducted using two helicopters, Labrador R-301, from Search and Rescue, Gander, and CG-360, from the CCGS HENRY LARSEN, as well as the Coast Guard auxiliary vessel MORRIS ELAINE and some 15 to 20 local vessels. The operator's body was recovered by RCMP divers the following day. He was found entangled in the fishing gear in approximately 60 feet (18.3 m) of water. An autopsy reported the cause of death as drowning. The CFV 151816 was recovered with no apparent damage. Regulations require small fishing vessels to carry an approved lifejacket for each person but there were no life jackets or PFDs carried on the vessel at the time of the occurrence. Setting Lobster Traps There is an advantage to placing all of one's traps in the water on the first day of a lobster fishing season. The best possible spots to place the traps are quickly and permanently taken by those who get there first and lobster prices are generally higher at the beginning of a season. Forward Visibility The height of the stow of traps together with the overhang of approximately 30 cm at each side, made it impossible for the crew, who were situated aft, to directly view the forward end of the vessel. Their first indication that the vessel had begun to ship water forward was when they noted an apparent increase in the forward draught. Stability Fishermen operating small fishing vessels are not required to have any formal training in vessel stability and the crew of the CFV 151816 had no such training. Many operators are not aware that structural alterations, such as the fibreglassing carried out on the VFV 151816, can have an adverse effect on vessel stability, and have the potential to jeopardize the safety of the crew. The Board, concerned about crew safety, recommended to the Department of Transport that a safety awareness programme be instituted to make personnel better aware of the adverse effects of structural modifications on vessel stability.[2] Information is available through several government agencies for vessel owners who are planning to make structural changes to their vessels, including information on the consequent effects on such things as stability. There were two drain holes in the forward thwartship bulkhead to allow water shipped in the forward section to drain aft to the bilge pump. These holes were approximately 3.5 cm in diameter and drilled in the bulkhead in the vicinity of the bilges. The lobster traps each weighed approximately 17.7 kg and the total weight of the load including traps, lines and buoys was estimated at 1400 kg. With the vessel so heavily laden there was little freeboard remaining on leaving the dock. The crew had no formal training in vessel stability.